(Even more here)

August 14, 2017

Argentina

• “Primaries in Argentina Show Macri’s Coalition Is en Route to Become the Main Political Force” (MercoPress, August 14, 2017).

At 03: 00 Monday morning with 90% of polling stations counted there was a technical tie with the resurgent ex populist president Cristina Fernandez

Belize, Guatemala

• Sebastian Escalon, “Belice: La Vida en la Linea Imaginaria” (Plaza Publica (Guatemala), August 14, 2017).

El olvido por parte del Estado de Guatemala y el latifundismo obligan a miles de campesinos a arriesgar la vida en las selvas beliceñas

Brazil

• Samy Adghirni, “Brazil Democracy Risked Without Defense Boost, Minister Says” (Bloomberg, August 14, 2017).

Some communities there are beyond the control of the state, Jungmann said, and criminal organizations stop their residents from voting freely

Colombia

• Camilo Mejia, Steven Cohen, “Colombia: Searching for an Alternative to Coca” (BBC (UK), August 14, 2017).

Success, in the long term, will depend not only on the viability of the new crops, but on the state’s ability to transform its relationship with the marginalised regions where the 50-year armed conflict raged

• “Comadreando se Resiste a la Violencia en Buenaventura” (Verdad Abierta (Colombia), August 14, 2017).

Paso a paso y sin hacer mucha bulla, las mujeres del Puerto han creado una red de confianza para desenterrar las violencias que pasan inadvertidas a los ojos de las autoridades

• “Las Vendettas Mafiosas Que Asustan en Valle y Antioquia” (Semana (Colombia), August 14, 2017).

Lo cierto es que en materia de criminlaidad el pasado no perdona; por eso en Valle y Antioquia parece repetirse el ciclo macabro de las vendettas mafiosas

Colombia, Venezuela

• Juan Forero, Louise Radnofsky, “Pence, on Latin America Visit, Plays Down Trump Talk of Military Approach to Venezuela” (The Wall Street Journal, August 14, 2017).

While some opponents of the Venezuelan regime welcomed Mr. Trump’s tough talk, others saw it as unhelpful

• Richard Aguirre Fernandez, “Asi Fue la Reunion Entre Santos y Pence” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), August 14, 2017).

El vicepresidente Pence le respondió que seguirán realizando acciones hasta que “el régimen de Maduro restablezca la democracia”, aunque destacó que el presidente Donald Trump confía en que se logrará una solución pacífica

• “Santos Le Dijo a Ee. Uu. Que No Haga Intervencion Militar en Venezuela” (El Tiempo (Colombia), August 14, 2017).

“Ni Colombia ni América Latina, desde el sur del río Grande hasta la Patagonia, podrían estar de acuerdo (con una intervención militar). América es un continente de paz. Mantengámoslo así”, le dijo Santos a Pence, en tres ocasiones

El Salvador

• Tim Muth, “Fmln and Arena Paid Gangs for Votes in 2014 Elections According to Witness” (El Salvador Perspectives, August 14, 2017).

The ex-leader of the 18 Revolucionarios gang testified that the FMLN paid a total of $250,000 to the three principal gangs in El Salvador to help procure the victory of president Salvador Sanchez Ceren

Mexico

• Michael Hardy, “In South Texas, Threat of Border Wall Unites Naturalists and Politicians” (The New York Times, August 14, 2017).

The map shows the wall being built well north of the river. But that means it will slice through countless pieces of private property and bisect several major wildlife refuges

• Patrick J. Mcdonnell, “What Does It Take to Secure a Border? Lessons From the Wall Dividing San Diego and Tijuana” (The Los Angeles Times, August 14, 2017).

Trump’s provocative campaign oratory harked back to soccer-field-style chaos of decades past and ignored a pivotal development — a dramatic plunge in illegal entries into the U.S.

• Bryan Schatz, “Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Has Trapped Migrants on Both Sides of the Border” (Mother Jones, August 14, 2017).

Turning refugees back to Reynosa means sending them into the middle of a low-intensity war zone, where factions of the Gulf and Zetas cartels are battling for territory and resources—like migrants

Nicaragua

• “Nicaragua Exhibe su Flota Militar Rusa y Estadounidense de Lucha Contra el Crimen” (Agence France Presse, El Heraldo (Honduras), August 14, 2017).

También incluye hospitales de campaña, morteros, un misil Sam-7 y lanzacohetes rusos, así como lanchas interceptoras, entre ellas la Nor Tech que Estados Unidos entregó para luchar contra el narcotráfico

Venezuela

• Joshua Goodman, “Analysis: Trump ‘Military’ Talk on Venezuela Unnerves Latam” (Associated Press, The Washington Post, August 14, 2017).

President Donald Trump’s talk of a “military option” in Venezuela risks alienating Latin American nations that overcame their reluctance to work with the Republican leader

• Hugh Bronstein, “Trump’s Threat of Venezuela Military Action Could Bolster Maduro” (Reuters **, August 14, 2017).

Maduro loyalists, who regularly insult opposition leaders as Washington’s lackeys, wasted no time in pouncing

• Andrew Knoll, Nicholas Casey, “Trump’s Talk of ‘Military Option’ in Venezuela May Bolster Maduro’s Hand” (The New York Times, August 14, 2017).

Mr. Trump, who is perhaps even less popular in the region, could threaten that solidarity by reprising the warlike language of past decades

• “Oposicion Venezolana Rechazo Posible Intervencion Militar por Parte de ee.uu.” (El Espectador (Colombia), August 14, 2017).

La Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (MUD) expresó repudio ante “el uso de la fuerza, o la amenaza de aplicar la misma, por parte de cualquier país en Venezuela”

• Jill Colvin, “In Latin America, Vp Pence Threads Needle on Venezuela” (Associated Press, The Washington Post, August 14, 2017).

Pence stressed the U.S. would much prefer what he called a “peaceable” solution to the growing political and humanitarian crisis

• Patricia Mazzei, “Powerful Venezuelan Lawmaker May Have Issued Death Order Against Rubio” (The Miami Herald, August 14, 2017).

Believed to be behind the order: Diosdado Cabello, the influential former military chief and lawmaker from the ruling socialist party who has publicly feuded with Rubio